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This year I had a whole plateful of 1940’s cookies planned for testing. Unfortunately, seasonal sickness had other plans. Like it usually does in our house. After I got Alex on a round of antibiotics for her ear infection, I was hurriedly able to crank out one cookie to test for you guys.

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Of course, it was the chocolate one. I needed them. Trust me.

AuthorRetroRuth

From The Electric Company Home Service Bureau, 1940

Tested Recipe!

[cooked-sharing]

Cookie
 ½ cup butter
 1 cup light brown sugar
 1 egg
 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
 1 ½ cups cake flour
 ¼ tsp salt
 ½ tsp baking powder
 1 cup walnuts
 ¼ cup evaporated milk
 ¼ cup water
 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting
 1 ½ oz unsweetened chocolate
 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
 3 tbsp evaporated milk
 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar

Cake
1

Cream butter, add sugar and blend well.

2

Add egg, beat until light and fluffy. Add chocolate and blend well.

3

Sift dry ingredients together; add nuts. Mix evaporated milk and water.

4

Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Add vanilla.

5

Drop by tablespoons onto greased or parchment covered cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until puffed and springy in the center.

6

Spread with frosting while still warm.
Yield: 3 dozen

Frosting
7

Stir in egg yolk (if using) milk into melted chocolate, slowly. Add powdered sugar slowly until consistency to spread. (You might not use all of the powdered sugar)

Ingredients

Cookie
 ½ cup butter
 1 cup light brown sugar
 1 egg
 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
 1 ½ cups cake flour
 ¼ tsp salt
 ½ tsp baking powder
 1 cup walnuts
 ¼ cup evaporated milk
 ¼ cup water
 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting
 1 ½ oz unsweetened chocolate
 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
 3 tbsp evaporated milk
 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar

Directions

Cake
1

Cream butter, add sugar and blend well.

2

Add egg, beat until light and fluffy. Add chocolate and blend well.

3

Sift dry ingredients together; add nuts. Mix evaporated milk and water.

4

Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Add vanilla.

5

Drop by tablespoons onto greased or parchment covered cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until puffed and springy in the center.

6

Spread with frosting while still warm.
Yield: 3 dozen

Frosting
7

Stir in egg yolk (if using) milk into melted chocolate, slowly. Add powdered sugar slowly until consistency to spread. (You might not use all of the powdered sugar)

Notes

Frosted Chocolate Drop Cookies

This recipe comes from a fantastic pamphlet I picked up last year that is a Christmas supplement from The Electric Company Home Service Bureau that was sent out in 1940 and contains nothing but Christmas cookies. I love it. It reminds me of the fabulous pamphlets and books we used to get from the gas company in Wisconsin when I was growing up.

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Anyway, mostly because of lack of sleep and a cranky toddler, it wasn’t until this point that I started to get that strange, deja vu feeling I get when I’ve made a recipe before. A little digging confirmed it: These cookies are basically a stripped down version of Jim Dandies, which I had tested quite a while ago.

So, the results of this became a forgone conclusion. Yes, they are good, even without all the Jim Dandy bells and whistles (or marshmallows and cherries). But, luckily for us, we had someone who had never tried these cookies before:

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Do you see the crumbs around her mouth and on the table? She acted like she was helping me frost cookies, but in reality she was just straight out eating them while my back was turned. She had three cookies down before I noticed. But she said they were “Very, very yummy,” so all was forgiven.

The Verdict: Yummy

From The Tasting Notes

These cookies are closer to tiny cakes in texture and brownies in flavor. Surprisingly chocolaty for a vintage recipe. They are very good as is, or you can add a marshmallow and a cherry and have a Jim Dandy instead. If you decide to leave out the yolk in your frosting like I did, add in an extra tablespoon of evaporated milk.

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